Saw my old cubicle mate from 2013 at a grocery store in Portland last week

I ran into Jake at a Fred Meyer near my place, he used to sit two desks over at that tech startup we both hated. He looks totally different now, shaved his head and seemed way more relaxed than the guy who always stressed about quarterly targets. Has anyone else had a run-in with an old coworker where they barely recognized them, and what changed?}

3 comments

3 Comments

shanef3428d ago

Did you get the feeling he finally found something he actually wanted to do, or was it more like he just stopped caring about appearances? I swear half the people I worked with back then were just putting on a show for the boss, and once they left that building the real person came out. Some folks get laid off or quit and it takes years before they look human again. What was the biggest sign to you that he was different, besides the shaved head?

michaelgrant28d ago

Biggest sign for me was he stopped talking about the "next step" or the "career ladder." People who are just faking it always have one eye on the next title, the next raise, the next thing that'll look good on paper. He used to be the same way, always planning his exit from whatever job he was in. After he got laid off and found his own thing, that talk just stopped. He was finally in the moment, not trying to impress anyone or climb anywhere. So which was it for him - did he tell you he found a purpose, or did it just look like he finally relaxed?

martin.riley28d ago

Think you nailed it with @shanef34, he just stopped caring what anyone thought and finally relaxed.